The Simpson Desert and Beyond (and Before)

DAY 61 (16/6): An early morning start to reach Newcastle in time for our grand-daughter Liana's 5th birthday celebrations.  So hard to believe she is 5!  As is so often the case, watching her open presents and celebrate the day was a delight.  We spent quite a bit of time at a playground so all the party food of the day was well and truly run off. The cake was something else.  Georgie is a very clever cook. DAY 62 (17/6): A lazy family start to the day followed by my first ever facial!  Ella, one of my daughters-in-law does this, among other things, so my face, dried out from months in central australia, was given a treat.  I felt like I had walked out of her studio with a new face.   Later in the day, I reintroduced myself to the game of 10-pin bowling!  I don't know how long it is since I have played and that length of time showed!  Why is it that no two attempts to bowl end up in the same place?  Pete was suffering the same fate ...

 DAY 52 (7/6): What a miserable day to wake up to.  We had quite a storm last night and there is still lightning around the place, although not in Broken Hill itself.  Still raining off and on, sometimes heavily, sometimes only just. I think we have decided to just head to Sydney and spend a bit more time with family.  We were on our way there anyway and all the alternative routes are impassable at the moment.  With that in mind, we are going to have a lazy day in Broken Hill today do a little browsing around and sightseeing but not much.  It is not long since we were here and the day, with its rain and strong winds, just didn't lend itself to pleasant tourism.   Driving through town in the rain was interesting.  There were lots of overflowing gutters and little rivers running down the middle of streets.  These helped clean the bottom of our dirty car! We were hoping that the cafe at the top of the Line of Lode site overlooking Broken...

 As we travel around we inevitably run across all sorts of people.  Some we have contact with, others we don't.  For some unknown reason, some of these people inspire curiousity in me. Why are they there? What is their backstory?  I make them up. These people were people we came across.  The events are true but the backstories are entirely fictitious. I don't usually share these stories, they stay in my head, but I've decided I will share a few. Vignette 1. Pub couple He sat down, sighed then waited silently. After a few minutes, his wife who had been ordering dinner arrived at the table, carrying a beer for him and a wine for her. She sat down then said, “Here’s to our first night,” eyes bright with anticipation. His eyes betrayed his “Cheers.” Farm life had taken its toll. It had milked him dry, emotionally and physically. The sale of the farm had been bitter-sweet. No longer would he lie awake at night wondering if they could last another season. But he h...

 DAY 49 (4/6): Although we were moving on from Arkaroola today we enjoyed a slow, somewhat lazy start. No need to hurry since our destination, Weetootla Gorge in Vulkathunha - Gammon Ranges NP, is only about 35 km away. We had taken the camper off the truck so we could drive around Arkaroola so we had to put that back on and pack up a bit more than usual since our stay here had been longer than usual. Also, a little bit of rain last night meant that the camper was damp so the extra time meant it could dry out.  We rewarded our packing up efforts with a cup of coffee at the reception area of Arakaroola.  While there, we overheard a phone call by a man whose car was in need of recovery.  35 km out of Arkaroola Village he had broken the suspension and one wheel was now where it shouldn't be.  The nearest recovery vehicle is 150 km away.  Glad it wasn't us - that would be one way to completely ruin a trip! By the time we reached Weetootla Gorge campground it wa...